Archery bow having resiliently mounted bow limbs

ABSTRACT

A separable bow comprising a handle and a pair of limbs, an upper and a lower limb, the foot of each limb being disengageably interconnected with the handle and being supported movably to and fro, with respect to the handle, in conformity with vibrations caused in the limb when an arrow is shot. Each limb is supported by two projection in the handle and each projection has a resilient member associated therewith for absorbing the vibrational movements of each limb.

United States Patent [1 1 Izuta Oct. 23, 1973 1 ARCHERY BOW HAVINGRESILIENTLY MOUNTED BOW LIMBS [75] Inventor: Tadao lzuta, Hamamatsu,Japan [73] Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seigo Kabushiki Kaisha, Hamamatsu-shi,Japan [22] Filed: Dec. 23, 1971 [211 App]. No.: 211,330

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 31, 1970 Japan 45/123581[52] US. Cl. 124/24 R, 124/30 R, 273/D1G. 7 [51] Int. Cl. F4lb 5/00 [58]Field of Search 124/23, 24, 25, 30 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1971 Larm 124/24 FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 747,692 12/1966 Canada 124/23 PrimaryExaminer-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. BrowneAttorney-Lawrence l. Lerner et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A separable bow comprising a handle and a pair of limbs,an upper and a lower limb, the foot of each limb being disengageablyinterconnected with the handle and being supported movably to and fro,with respect to the handle, in conformity with vibrations caused in'thelimb when an arrow is shot. Each limb is supported by two projections inthe handle and each projection has a resilient member associatedtherewith for absorbing the vibrational movements of each limb.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUnms m5 L sum 1 BF 3 F131 4Q'PRIORART Fig.2-

PAIENIEUUBIZB IQH SHEET REF 3 ARCHERY BOW IIAVING RESILIENTLY MOUNTEDBOW LIMBS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally toa bow, and more particularly to a bow having a separable structure.

Two types of bows are conventionally known. One type consists of asingle inseparable bow body and a string. Whether the bow is made ofwood, horn or steel, the figure of this type is nearly the same in allcountries, having generally two limbs or inflections, between whichthere is stretched a right string. While, another type comprises aseparable structure, having a handle and a pair of limbs, an upper and alower limb, which are disengageable from each other, and when in use,the foot of each limb is apposed to each .end of the handle and is madein a facial or face-to-face contacttherewith and is secured thereto by aconnecting member, e.g. two pairs or more of bolts and nuts so that asingle bow may be formed.

The former, as the structure of its bow body is all in one, only onespecific bow thereof would not be available for plural purposes, e.g.such as for hunting, field and target. For different item of shootingsports, .it would be necessary therefore to prepare for plural bows ofdifferent specifications, whereby it would cause the user to bear aheavy economical burden. .Because of its long size, it is alsotroublesome .to carry it. Still displeasure of this type of how is thatthe limbs which are most apt to be worn out of the bow body are notreplaceable, thus if either of two limbs of bow body should happen to begiven a damage, it would come to that the bow as a whole is no moreavailable for further use while there are still much wear in the handleand the remaining limb.

The latter, differing from the bow as referred to in the preceedingparagraph, is of a separable structure. Either upper or lower limb, orboth may be replaced with another or another pair when worn out or whenselecting for a desired item of shooting. It also comes in handy,because it can be disassembled and can be easily carried. But yet,unavoidable shortcoming has this bow. It comes from the structure.As aresult of the structure of this type of bow in which the handle and eachlimb are secured and held together in a facial or face-to-face contact,a sudden shock or vibration produced just after the shooting has beenperformed would come down upon the handle, and which might cause the bowand the course of an arrow unstable, lowering the percentage of hittingthe mark.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A principal object of this invention is toprovide a novel and improved bow having a separable structure adapted tostabilize the bow and the course of arrow setting free from the bow,thereby a satisfactory shooting may be attained.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel andimproved separable bow adapted to be readily assembled and disassembledwherein certain parts of the how are replaceable with aim that thedesired bow intended to the purpose may be quickly ready for use.

A separable bow according to one aspect of the present inventioncomprises a handle, a pair of limbs consisting of an upper limb and alower limb, the foot of each limb being interconnected disengageablywith the of the limb in the handle, whereby axsudden shock or vibrationaccruing in connection with shooting of an arrow can be absorbed, whichabsorption would help an excellent archery to be performed.

The principle, nature and utility of the present inven BRIEF DESCRIPTIONOF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the principaland major part of a conventional bow having a separable structure;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view of a separable bow embodied inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the principal partof the separable bow as shown in FIG. '2, illustrating the operation ofthe bow;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the principal partof a separable bow embodied accord ing toanother aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the bow as shown in FIG. 4, illustratingan upper limb disengaged from th end portion of the handle;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the principal part of a separable bow embodiedaccording to further aspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 .is a longitudinal sectional view of the same bow as shown inFIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawing, FIG.1 is taken up only for the purpose of a reference and for a better understanding of the present invention in comparison with a conventionalseparable bow, which comprises abow body 1 having a handle 2 and apairof limbs, an upper limb 3 and a lower limb 4, wherein the foot-ofeach limb 3 or 5 is connected with the end portion of the handle .by acouple of bolts 5, namely the handle and limb are integrally connectedface to face with each other.

In an example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, reference nu meral 11 indicates ahandle which is shaped out of the blocks of woods or plastics bycutting, or molded or formed by the injection molding or compression.Above all, lamination of hard, resilient woods with waterproof syntheticcements, glass fiber reinforced plastic or steel gives excellentresults, and is increasingly being used in making same. Referencenumerals l2 and 13 are an upper limb and a lower limb, a pair of theselimb being respectively made up to be of the desired width and length orin the desired shape in accordance with the purpose and use. The foot ofthe upper limb 12 or of the lower limb 13 is connected with the handle I11 at a short distance from the end of the handle 11 by a connectingmember 14 such as a. bolt so as to permit easy disengagement of the limbfrom the handle. The

. connecting member 14 is fixed to the handle 11 and is connectingmember 14 is inserted into the hole 16 and is rigidly screwed into thehandle. To prevent the connecting member 14 from unscrewing out of thehandle, a nut may be attached to one end of the member 14 which comesout of the handle at the opposite side thereof. Thus the foot of thelimb 12 or 13 is permitted to make a to-and-fro movement substantiallyin a direction in which an arrow is shot. A resilient member such as acoiled spring 15 is provided between the head 14a of the connectingmember 14 and the foot of the limb 12 or 13 in such a manner that, whenthe foot of the limb 12 or 13 is moved toward the head 14a of theconnecting member 14, the coiled spring 15 is compressed against itsresiliency. The foot of the limb 12 or 13 connected with the handle 11at a location leaving a small space from the edge of the handle isfurther mounted or supported at the edge of the handle 11 by asupporting member 17 which is provided at the edge of the handle 11 inthe form of a single or plural knob-like or a linear prjection(s). Theplural knob-like projections or linear projection is extended linearlyin a direction substantially at right angles to the direction in whichthe limb is extended. The support of the limb by the handle is achievedtherefore by a point contact as in the knob-like projection or by alinear contact as in the plural knob-like projections or a linearprojection.

As is apparent from the above description, with the separable separablebow according to one aspect of the invention, the limb 12 or 13 issupported or held by the handle 11 only at two points, that is, at onepoint where the connecting member 14 is provided and at the other pointwhere the the supporting member 17 exists, and further the limb issupported so that it can be movable, with respect to the handle, againstthe resiliency of the coiled spring 15. For such reasons, the vibrationor shock caused in the limb when an arrow is released from the bow bodyand string, is hardly transmitted to the handle 1 1, being effectivelyabsorbed by the abovementioned coupling construction. It is noted thatthis advantage is most effectively achieved by the fact that the limb isonly abutted against the handle at the supporting member 17 in a stateof a point or linear contact, and that the foot of the limb is movablealong the axis of the connecting member, and further the fact that theresilient member functions as a shockabsorber, vibrating along with thelimb subjected to the vibration or shock.

FIGS. 4 and 5 exemplify another embodiment of the present invention.There is formed at each end of the handle 11 a groove 18 having asufficient depth to fix in and hold the foot of an upper limb 12 or alower limb 13. The foot of the limb 12 or 13 is disengageably heldtogether with the handle 11 by a pair of projections 19 and 20 which areset in opposite inner sides of the groove, raising out the respectivefree ends inward in such disposition as if they form a step. Theprojections 19 and 20 are, respectively, connected to resilient basemembers 21 and 22 as of rubber, which are inserted in recesses formed inthe walls of the groove so that the projections are movable in thelengthwise direction of the respective projections against theresiliency of the base members 21 and 22. When the foot of the limb 12or 13 fixed in the groove 18 of the handle 11, the groove catches andholds said foot in such a manner that the projection 19 engages with arecess 23 formed on one side of the foot, and that the other projection20 does likewise with a corresponding recess 24 formed on the other sideof the foot. The limbs 12 and 13 are thus gripped and held on by thehandle 11 at least at two points as mentioned above, which makes theengagement between the handle and limbs sure and solid.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a further embodiment of the present invention. Thefoot of a limb (a lower limb is shown) is bifurcated to form a groove 25which is to receive and hold on a projecting longitudinal member 26provided at each end of a handle 11. A shaft 27 is fixed to the foot ofthe limb 12 so as to bridge the lower part of the groove 15. Around theshaft 27 is rotatably supported the longitudinal member 26 of the handle11. Another shaft 28 is inserted in the limb 12 at a distance somewhatabove the shaft 27 so as to bridge the upper part of the groove 25. Anelongated groove 29 is formed in the handle 11 to receive the shaft 28,as shown in FIG. 7. The elongated groove 29 is extended substantially ina direction in which an arrow is shot, or more precisely along a locusdepicted by the shaft 28 when the limb 12 is rotated about the shaft 27.A resilient member such as a coiled spring 30 is inserted in theelongated groove 29 and is disposed between the shaft 28 and the handle11 in such a manner that, when a string is stretched between the limbs,the coiled spring 30 is compressed against the resiliency thereof.

By employing a shaft attaching structure wherein the shaft 27 is easilyremovable, the limb 12 is foldable about the shaft 28 toward the handle11 when not in use.

As will be apparent from the above description, the particular separablebow in accordance with the present invention has, in common with all theembodiments, a structure 'in which a pair of limbs are respectivelyconnected with a handle by being held on at least at two points on thehandle and is resiliently supported by spring means, and this willeffectively prevent the transmission to the handle of the shock orvibration produced in the limbs just after the performance of shooting.Thus it will stabilize the bow and the course of an arrow shot and willimprove the certainty of hitting the mark.

At the same time, the bow of this invention can be easily assembled anddisassembled due to its particular separable structure. When finishedthe play, or when worn out, or when selecting for a desired item ofshooting, either an upper limb or a lower limb, or both can be easilytaken off out of a handle to stow away or to replace with another oranother pair with the desired width, length or in desired shapeaccording to the purpose and use.

I claim:

1. A separable bow for shooting an arrow comprising a handle having anupper and lower end portion, each of said end portions having a groovedefined by opposite walls of said handle, a pair of limbs consisting ofan upper limb and a lower limb, said upper and lower limbs having footportions to be inserted, respectively, into said grooves of the upperand lower end portions of said handle, said limbs being subjected tovibrational movements when an arrow is released from the bow, mountingmeans for mounting said limbs on said handle with the foot'portion ofeach of said limbs movably supported by said handle, with respect tosaid handle, in conformity with the vibrational movements of said limbs,said mounting means comprising a pair of projections extending,respectively, from the opposite walls of said handle toward said groovein an offsetting relationship to each other and a corresponding pair of2. The separable bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said limbs issupported by said handle substantially said pair of projections.

3. The separable bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resilientlysupporting means comprises a resilient base member attached to saidhandle and supporting each of said projections.

1. A separable bow for shooting an arrow comprising a handle having anupper and lower end portion, each of said end portions having a groovedefined by opposite walls of said handle, a pair of limbs consisting ofan upper limb and a lower limb, said upper and lower limbs having footportions to be inserted, respectively, into said grooves of the upperand lower end portions of said handle, said limbs being subjected tovibrational movements when an arrow is released from the bow, mountingmeans for mounting said limbs on said handle with the foot portion ofeach of said limbs movably supported by said handle, with respect tosaid handle, in conformity with the vibrational movements of said limbs,said mounting means comprising a pair of projections extending,respectively, from the opposite walls of said handle toward said groovein an offsetting relationship to each other and a corresponding pair ofrecesses in the foot portions of each of said limbs, said pair ofprojections fitting into said recesses so as to engageably support saidfoot portions and resiliently supporting means for resilientlysupporting said limbs, said resiliently supporting means comprisingresilient members positioned, respectively, at each of said projectionsand serving to absorb the vibrational movements of said limbs.
 2. Theseparable bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said limbs issupported by said handle substantially said pair of projections.
 3. Theseparable bow as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resiliently supportingmeans comprises a resilient base member attached to said handle andsupporting each of said projections.